Boston Celtics power forward Jared Sullinger (7) battles Chicago Bulls small forward Mike Dunleavy for a rebound during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014, in Chicago.
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In retrospect maybe blown leads were kind of fun, at least when the alternative is missing almost every 3-pointer, committing turnovers quite frequently, and allowing Mike Dunleavy Jr. to shovel dirt into your grave.

The Boston Celtics could not figure out Chicago's rugged defense and were easily handled by the Bulls on Thursday night, 94-82.

I'm trying a new recap format for this game, so bear with me while I work out the kinks:

When the game turned: With 1:43 left in the third quarter, Jordan Crawford hit a contested jumper that brought the Celtics (down 10 points a few minutes earlier) within 64-60. But apparently, Mike Dunleavy Jr. saw Chicago's dwindling lead as his cue to morph into the very best basketball player on earth (very briefly, but still). Dunleavy had an assist, a steal, a block, an offensive rebound and a bucket before the end of the third quarter, then added five more points over the first 1:24 of the fourth. He dominated an 11-0 Bulls run that put the Celtics down by 15 and essentially ended the game.

Highlight moments: I'm always a sucker for Avery Bradley hustle steals. When he combines one with a first-quarter, no-look assist for a Jared Sullinger and-one dunk, he'll make my highlights every time. ... Kris Humphries isn't known for his court vision, but made a sweet feed to Sullinger on the first possession of the second quarter. The Bulls were really daring Humphries to fire from midrange, but he faked a shot instead, took one dribble to his right and unleashed a perfect pass to Sullinger near the rim. ... About three minutes later, Sullinger tried to chase down his own miss and ended up knocking the ball to Humphries. The backup power forward grabbed the loose ball and slammed it home in the vicinity of a couple Bulls defenders. ... It's not often you will see Vitor Faverani on a one-man fast break, but the backup center stole a pass late in the second and went coast to coast for an easy dunk. Unfortunately, his basket was one of two field goals the Celtics managed over the final seven minutes of the first half. ... The Celtics offense was also a no-show for most of the third quarter. The Bulls have a stingy defense, of course, but things turned ugly. Boston was 8 of 24 (33.3 percent) with five turnovers in the quarter. ... With 6:47 left in the fourth, Sullinger gave a hard foul to Bulls forward Taj Gibson and received a flagrant 1 foul. Gibson went up for a dunk and Sullinger, rotating from the weak side, hit him strongly on the arm. Gibson fell hard to the floor, prompting an official review. Sullinger's arms were straight up, like he was just contesting the shot, but he definitely appeared to put a little extra on the foul so Gibson couldn't finish the dunk. ... After getting exploited on three straight pick and rolls near the end of the first quarter, Kelly Olynyk, fresh off a career-best 21 points, appeared to be banished to the bench for a long time. He did not play again until the game was well out of hand. Faverani received most of Olynyk's regular minutes. The Brazilian rookie had some very ugly misses, including a 3-point try from the right wing that almost killed an angel (or just had a lot of steam on it when it hit the backboard). ... Olynyk did hit a 3-pointer with 2:00 left, Boston's first made triple. The Celtics missed their first nine shots from beyond the arc. ... Carlos Boozer (16 points, seven rebounds) and Joakim Noah (17 points, 11 rebounds) both had their way for Chicago. Noah finished one assist shy of a triple-double. ... After the game, head coach Brad Stevens told reporters he was very encouraged by the team's effort and physicality. Obviously, the Celtics missed a lot of shots (they finished 32-81 from the field and 2-14 from the arc), but Stevens was happy about the way his team competed. Boston won the rebounding battle, 47-41, against a tough Chicago team.

Notable performances/notes:

How much is Sullinger's hand bothering him? Averaging just 5.3 points over his previous three outings, probably his worst stretch of play this season, Jared Sullinger came back to life. Sort of. He finished with 11 points and 11 boards, but still did not seem like himself. He couldn't find his outside touch, airballing one 3-pointer and barely drawing iron on a long 2, and failed to catch a lot of rebounds/passes he normally would gobble up routinely. The 21-year old is playing with a glove on his left hand that looks like it might have doubled as an early-90s Nintendo marketing gimmick. Sullinger has been gritting through an injured left hand for more than a month, but only recently started wearing something to limit the pain. He obviously does not feel comfortable catching the ball with his left hand. If the issue lingers, it might be wise for him to take some time off.

Kris Humphries: For the second straight game, Boston's second unit started the second quarter with a strong run. This time, it was an 8-0 spurt that turned a 3-point deficit into a 29-24 lead. Olynyk went to the bench after his poor stint, but the rest of the second unit (with Sullinger, who quickly replaced Olynyk) gave some great minutes to begin the second. Humphries (nine points, 11 boards) continues to offer consistency, playing better defense than even head coach Brad Stevens anticipated and displaying a continued burst of midrange shooting. He has busted down the door to the rotation and seized the job of first big man off the bench. I can't be the only one surprised by how consistent he's been while producing on both ends of the court. The Nets defense collapsed with him on the court last year.

Jeff Green struggles: For his entire time with the Celtics, the knock against Jeff Green has been that he cannot make a real impact every game. He has some brilliant performances, like when he scored 29 points against Cleveland, but he also goes through long stretches of relative uselessness. He can be a little like those optical illusion pictures: I keep squinting and thinking Jeff Green will appear if I look at the court properly, but sometimes I just see dots instead. The small forward had four points on 2-8 shooting in the first half, then started pressing the issue. Over 10 minutes in the third, he hit 2 of 7 shots for four points. At least I wasn't seeing dots. Green finished with 11 points on 5-18 shooting, not a very efficient night by any measurement. With the exception of 19 points against Cleveland on Dec. 28, he really hasn't played well for the last three weeks or so. Before that, he had seemed to be rolling.

Jordan Crawford's weird play: Jordan Crawford had the type of game only he can have. He seemed to take mostly bad shots, yet somehow had 22 points and seven assists while sinking 7 of 11 attempts. He did finish with five of Boston's 18 turnovers, so his game was not close to perfect.

Going forward: The Celtics, who have now lost five out of six, will not need to wait long before redeeming themselves. They host New Orleans on Friday night. After that, a five-game Western Conference road trip looms. Uh oh?